The purpose of this blog is to provide families with precise, up-to-date
information on all of America World Adoption’s programs, helpful
resources and adoption stories. We pray that you are encouraged
by seeing God working in families through the Spirit of Adoption.

January 2010

January 29, 2010

Congratulations to the 29 families who accepted referrals through the China Waiting Children (WC) Program during the month of January! Most of these acceptances occurred over the past two weeks as 23 of the accepted referrals were from the shared group released on 1/18 and the other 6 acceptances were for America World referrals from our previous groups. The referrals accepted were both boys and girls, ages 8 months- 13 years and were children who had special needs such as the following: cleft lip/palate (repaired and unrepaired), multiple special needs, vision impairments, ear deformity, heart defect, and missing limbs.

We give praise to God for the 29 children who will soon be united with their forever families. We also continue our prayers for those families still waiting for their referrals. There are many shared and America World referrals still waiting for families! The WC program is in need of families open to boys and referrals over the age of 2 years. Families interested in learning more about joining the WC program can email their Family Coordinator or the Waiting Children Program at waitingchildren@awaa.org.

January 27, 2010

There was a White House conference call this afternoon about Haiti adoption in which members of the Administration from the Department of State, US Agency for International Development, Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives and the Public Engagement Office of the White House participated. Unfortunately, there is a large amount of government bureaucracy that is opposed to adoption as an appropriate response to the orphan crisis in Haiti. While we fervently believe all efforts should be made to keep families intact – with a crisis of this magnitude we know there are thousands upon thousands of children in need of permanent families. I would encourage you to write to public@who.eop.gov and let them know what you think. I’ve already drafted a short email and plan to send the following:

“I don’t think the US government is doing enough to help orphans in Haiti. The efforts to work with orphans who’ve already had their adoptions completed is commendable – but this is less than one percent of the orphans in Haiti. Adoption should be an option for children languishing in orphanages and if our government is going to be spending tens of millions of dollars to help rebuild Haiti, it should start with the premise that the most vulnerable – Haiti’s children – are given an opportunity to be raised in a family. If a family isn’t available in Haiti we shouldn’t allow borders to be barriers to these children growing up with a mom and dad.”

On a positive note, as a response to this crisis, many member of Congress, including Senator Landrieu, are further promoting the Families For Orphans Act of 2009, a bill which will establish an office in the Department of State to engage in policy formation and diplomacy to promote orphans’ need for permanent and safe families. This is legislation that our agency supports.

I’ll continue to update you regarding news pertaining to adoption from Haiti and the ability for families to adopt from that country. We have been encouraged that there have been a number of families who’ve contacted us about their interest in adoption after learning about Haiti. More information about our program can be found on our programs page.

January 26, 2010

We’re excited to announce a new program available to America World in Moscow. Our current Russia facilitator has informed us of several Asian boys, ages 10-18 months available for international adoption. These boys are considered very healthy and the process would take between 6 -8 months from the time the dossier is submitted to Moscow.

Eligibility requirements for any adoptive family are the same as already outlined on our Russia Program webpage. Please note that there are ONLY boys of Asian descent available.

Current AW families interested in this program may contact their Family Coordinator. For all other inquiries please refer to our Russia Program webpage to check eligibility requirements or call 1-800-ONE-CHILD.

We’re thrilled to announce that TWO families will be traveling to Kazakhstan beginning in February through April to finalize their adoptions. God has been so amazing to open the doors of Kazakhstan to our families and that for several of them the wait is almost over. We also want to express our appreciation to the Kazakhstan Embassy here in D.C. for their labors on behalf of our families.

We also have two families that will be making their second and final trips to Russia in the very near future. One child is coming from Voronezh and the other one is from Krasnoyarsk. What a blessings to these families! We congratulate them on the beautiful expansion of their families.

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake. This earthquake killed hundreds of thousands of Haitians and left over a million people homeless and in need of the basic necessities for life.

America World Adoption is greatly concerned about the well-being of all those affected by this disaster, especially the children in Haiti. We continue to pray for the orphans that have been affected by this earthquake.

Many children have been separated from their families – humanitarian efforts are underway seeking to reunify these families. Many other children tragically lost their parents in this disaster and aid organizations are seeking to find relatives who can appropriately care for these children. In other circumstances there are orphans that have nobody who is capable of providing for them; in these situations America World Adoption believes it is imperative that competent authorities prioritize finding safe, permanent families for these children.

We support the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of the Child and the efforts of reputable organizations to protect orphans against trafficking and from being inappropriately separated from their families. We’re also supportive of those efforts to prioritize and expedite the processing of orphans’ cases by making best interest determinations regarding placing children into safe, permanent and appropriate families.

Is adoption currently possible from Haiti?At this time, the only children being processed for visas are those children who either had their adoptions finalized within Haiti prior to the January 12th earthquake or those children who’ve already been accepted as a referral by families working with an adoption service provider. New adoption cases aren’t currently being processed.

America World Adoption intends to work with families whenever and wherever possible to promote appropriate adoptions from Haiti. We will be monitoring the situation very carefully and can update families on the ability to adopt from Haiti. For those interested in receiving updates from us directly, please email your name and email address to info@awaa.org with the subject line “Haiti Adoption Interest”.

Is God calling me to adopt from Haiti?God works in mysterious and unpredictable ways; He can take awful situations and use them to produce blessings. Many families are now interested in adoption after learning about the tragedy in Haiti. Perhaps God is using this tragedy in Haiti to show us that there are orphans all over the world in need of families.

Instead of an earthquake, tens of thousands of children have been left as orphans in Ethiopia because of HIV/AIDS, poverty and famine; your family can get more information about Ethiopia adoption by going to our website or emailing ethiopia@awaa.org. In Rwanda, the aftermath of the genocide, HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty have left many children as orphans; this is one of our newest programs and we’ve been encouraged to see the results; families can email a Rwanda Family Coordinator at rwanda@awaa.org. Our China Waiting Children Program has children available age six months to fourteen years, including young children with minor and medically correctible special needs; please email waitingchildren@awaa.org for more information about this program.

We encourage you to pray and seek the Lord’s will for your family. And please continue praying for those in need in Haiti – a crisis of this magnitude will require years and years of help – and we pray that by the mercy and grace of God this will not be a time when orphans are left by the wayside, but that permanent families will be sought for all the children in need of parents to care for them, in Haiti and throughout the world.

January 22, 2010

We have had such a positive response to our posting about Haiti adoption. We’ve heard from many families that are interested in more information once it becomes available. If you’d like to add your name and e-mail address to this list, please email info@awaa.org with “Haiti Adoption Interest” in the subject line.

I spoke with someone today whose family is strongly considering adopting after he and his wife learned of the plight of orphans in Haiti. After they learned a few days ago that adoption from Haiti isn’t readily available for new adoption cases, he and his wife are now considering adopting a child from another country. We believe that God is using the tragic events in Haiti to help a child who is in need of a family – even though that child isn’t in Haiti.

I know that God works in mysterious and unpredictable ways – and I wonder if this tragedy in Haiti isn’t God’s way of showing us that there are orphans all over the world in need of families. Instead of an earthquake, tens of thousands of children have been left as orphans in Ethiopia because of HIV/AIDS, poverty and famine; your family can get more information about Ethiopia adoption by going to our website or emailing ethiopia@awaa.org. In Rwanda, the aftermath of the genocide, HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty have left many children as orphans; this is one of our newest programs and we’ve been encouraged to see the results; families can email a Rwanda Family Coordinator at rwanda@awaa.org. Our China Waiting Children Program has children available age six months to fourteen years including young children with minor and medically correctible special needs; please email waitingchildren@awaa.org for more information about this.

I encourage you to pray and seek the Lord’s will for your family. And please continue praying for those in need in Haiti – a crisis of this magnitude will require years and years of help – and I pray that by the mercy and grace of God this will not be a time when orphans are left by the wayside, but that permanent families will be sought for them.

Christian artist, Aaron Ivey, and his family are currently in the process of adopting from Haiti. Their son is safe after the earthquake and they are hopeful to receive an expedited visa to bring him home soon. Aaron’s song “Amos Story” speaks loudly to the longing desire adoptive families share as they wait to bring their children home.

The Ethiopia program is excited to start out 2010 with 11 referrals so far! Find below the list of these children and the DTE dates of the families. Please keep in mind some of these referrals may be sibling sets or children previously on our waiting children list.

Age and Gender of Child

DTE Date

6 Male Infants

8/20/2009

8/28/2009

8/28/2009

9/18/2009

10/9/2009

10/30/2009

1 Female Infant

5/8/2009

2 Male Toddlers

9/4/2009

10/9/2009

1 Female Toddler

9/4/2009

1 Female 5 years or older

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Due to the recent trends of received referrals the wait time for an infant male is 3-6 months, while the wait time for a female infant is 8-11 months. This trend is based on recent history, but is subject to change.

We are eager to see what the Lord has in store for the Ethiopia program during 2010! Please keep the Ethiopia program in your prayers as we send children home with their forever families and bring more children into our transition homes.

January 21, 2010

I am writing to update those who are interested in Haitian adoption. I participated in a conference today involving USCIS, US Dept. of State and the Dept. of Health and Human Services. At this time, the only children being processed for visas are those children who either had their adoption finalized within Haiti prior to the January 12th earthquake or those children who’ve already been accepted as a referral by families working with an adoption service provider. New adoption cases aren’t currently being processed.

There is consideration of a policy to allow children in desperate circumstances to enter to the United States on a special humanitarian visa – but there are not yet details regarding which children might qualify and what their status would be regarding adoption.

There is still much chaos and confusion in Haiti and many families are still trying to locate their loved ones. We were encouraged to know that the US government is very serious about not placing children who could still have a family or would not be appropriate for adoption. Our hearts and prayers are going out to the people of Haiti – especially the orphans in that country. When Haiti does have children available for adoption it is our agency’s intention to help find families for those orphans. If your family is interested in Haitian adoption, please email info@awaa.org with the subject “Haiti adoption interest.” We’ll compile a list of names and email addresses and inform families when there is more information.

Every Child’s Heart is an event that brings adoption, foster care and child sponsorship organizations together to share with the community how they are caring for children around the world and how you can partner with them to do the same. The event will be held March 6, 2010, from 9:30-1:00 at Cornerstone Church, 16010 Annapolis Road in Bowie MD (www.cag.org). Organizations presenting include: America World Adoption, Bethany Christian Services, Prince George’s County Foster Care Program and Latin America Child Care.

For further information and to register please contact us at EveryChildsHeart@gmail.com or at 301-262-6266 x 107. To ensure space availability, please register no later than March 3rd. In lieu of a registration fee we are accepting monetary donations to be sent to Haiti through Convoy of Hope.